When I first decided to enter law school I read A LOT of blogs to see what others had to say about their law school experience. There were a range of attitudes about the decision to go. Some said “Go! It will be the best years of your life!” While others said “Don’t waste your money!” I was torn. But, as I mentioned before, my husband and I are planners. We discussed best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios of me attending law school. In looking at our options I noticed that our concerns fell into four main categories: time, support, finances, and motivation. In my personal opinion these are some of the most important factors one should consider when deciding whether or not law school is right for them.
1.TIME
Law school is a time suck! Period! Not only are you slow going at first, you then become bombarded with assignments. Before you know it it’s the end of the semester and you haven’t finished your outline. Time flies when you need more of it.
If there is one thing you need to assess in your life before going to law school its “do I have the time?” For us, it wasn’t too difficult to get beyond the fact that we would be losing a majority of our time together. My husband decided to work on our house and see more of his friends. But you also have to consider the other things you will be missing out on. You won’t always have time to go the movies, or a birthday party, or girl’s night out. There will be times when the BBQ’s are tempting but that 80-page reading assignment looms over you.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t make time for yourself and go out and enjoy the things that will help you keep your sanity. But just realize that your first year requires more than just reading assignments. You are learning a whole new way of reading, of digesting information, and of retaining information. You are also learning a new way to think, to write, and to speak about your thoughts and opinions. That all takes time.
The silver lining in all of this is that if you buckle down and get your study habits established early on, your second and third year ease up so much that you look back at your first year and wondered why you were ever that worried?
In sum, make time for school, homework, a little “together time,” and don’t forget to factor in sleeping ; )
2. SUPPORT
During my 1L orientation our student board had some 2L and 3L part-time evening law students come in and talk “real” to us about what law school is really like. I won’t lie…I was scared shitless! The one thing that has always stuck with me was when one of the students said “law school leads to divorce.” Boom! He dropped that bomb on us! He explained his personal life experiences and how the time commitment to law school made his wife very unhappy and they divorced. Essentially, he said that she wasn’t supportive of him. But he took partial responsibility for that because when they decided he would go to law school they didn’t know about the support they would need from each other. Welp, I learned through his mistake.
I went home THAT NIGHT and talked to my husband again. I wanted to make sure he truly supported my efforts and understood what this meant for our lives for the next four years. We agreed that he would take over all the “responsibilities” I usually took care of around the house: dishes, laundry, paying the bills. I then “scheduled in” a date night every Friday night with him. I promised him I would have dinner with him every Friday night after which he was free to go out with the guys while I went back to my homework. For us, that worked! He never complained about me not doing the dishes (even though I may have complained when he didn’t do them) and he understood that when I turned down his offers to go out somewhere, it wasn’t him, it was law school. When I fell asleep on my books in the office, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to sleep with him, it was law school.
In addition to the support of your significant other, you will also need the support of your extended family. They need to know that when you don’t come to dinner, or you miss your nephews birthday party it’s not because you don’t want to go (although sometimes it is) but its because you are buried under 3 pounds books that are currently dominating your life. Let them know that you are going on a journey that requires your time and dedication and may not initially leave room for anything else. So, when you don’t return their texts or voicemails for days on end, it’s not them, its law school. My mom resorted to calling my husband to check up on me when she didn’t hear from me. Plus, they knew to leave me alone during finals… I was off the grid for two weeks straight.
Lastly, tell your friends you’re not ditching them. If they are your true friends, they will still be there when you get back. My girlfriends are so great, knowing that I couldn’t make a lot of the activities they all planned they always thought to invite me so I never felt left out or that I was losing touch with them. I even surprised them a few times by actually showing up! Bells, whistles, and all! To my knowledge they haven’t gotten tired of hearing “sorry, I can’t, I have homework.”
3. FINANCES
It sucks, but is has to be said. Law school is going to cost you more than some people’s houses plus the cars in the garage of those houses. D-E-B-T! Know this going into your decision that you will come out in debt because most, if not all, of your tuition and living expenses will be funded through government and private loans. This is also something to consider when deciding what law school to attend (I will elaborate on that decision later).
For us, it was a balancing test (oooh! that was your first taste of law school: the balancing test!). We wanted to maintain our lifestyle, get through school, and come out with as “little” amount of debt as possible (that was probably an oxymoron). For us, that meant I would continue to work so that the only loans I was taking would be for the cost of tuition. That would save us the end result of a huge student loan payment.
Knowing that you will be in debt after school gives you the advantage to plan ahead of time. If you can work for a few hours a week after your first year, use that money for living expenses so you are not paying interest on the groceries you buy or the gas in your car. If you can pick up a paying internship during the summer, use that for living expenses as well.
I was lucky in that my job offered tuition reimbursement. The downside was it was only $5,250 a year, but the upside was that was $5,250 a year I didn’t have to take out in student loans. Unfortunately, that was discontinued after my first semester. But incentives like that are things you should look for and factor into your financial calculations.
Also, scholarships can be both a blessing and a burden. Let me explain. Most law schools that offer student scholarships also place a condition on it that in order for you to remain eligible for the scholarship you have to maintain a certain GPA average. Each law school is required by the ABA (Rule 509-3) to disclose the number of conditional scholarships offered and their retention rates the following year so you have some indication of how your law school handles their scholarship offerings. Although it alleviates some of the initial financial burden you feel your first year, that feeling is replaced with the even heavier burden of making the grades you need in order to have that scholarship renewed. Don’t get me wrong, it is totally possible! I have been lucky enough to have my scholarship renewed every semester and it was even increased after my first year! But, when going over your financial plan, don’t count this as guaranteed money in the bank.
For a vast majority of people who decide to attend law school, the federal government is going to loan you the money to attend. You will be provided tuition and living expenses based on a variety of factors: financial need, enrollment status (full time vs. part time), and the type of federal loan you qualify for. You can visit studentloans.gov to get more information about the various types of loans that are available to you. My biggest piece of advice is take the “free money” first such as scholarships and work study money and to only take what you need of the federal loans because whatever “extra” money you take and just leave sitting in your bank account will be collecting interest. So plan ahead and know that after all is said and done, you will have to pay all of the loan money back with interest.
4. MOTIVATION
There will be times when you want to quit! Times when it gets too hard and you think you are just not going to cut it. It’s at times like that when you need to focus on the motivation that spurred you to go to law school and that will help carry you through school when times get tough (read: FINALS WEEK!). For me, that motivation was the degree itself. The degree I had always known I wanted and had now been given the opportunity to obtain. When I lacked sleep and didn’t think all of the espresso shots and coffee refills could get me through another day, I just reminded myself that this degree was going to open a door to a field I always wanted to be a part of. I knew I couldn’t practice law without getting through school. And I was constantly reminding myself that it would eventually be over and I would have accomplished my biggest goal thus far.
Keep your eye on whatever motivates you: changing your career, your family, putting yourself in a better financial position, status, whatever it is that you seek; keep your eye on that and don’t lose site when times get hard.
For me, these were our main considerations. But you should also consider other factors that will affect your decision to go to law school such as will your LSAT and GPA allow you to attend the school of your choice? Will there be a job market for lawyers when you graduate? Will relocation be an option for you to attend school or to accept a job? There is a lot that goes into making this big decision so take some time and consider your decision to attend law school.
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